Taking your dog abroad- a guide to the UK PETS scheme

Taking your dog abroad- a guide to the UK PETS scheme

It doesn't seem that long ago that if you wanted to go abroad then you would need to either put your dogs in to kennels or go through hoops and a lengthy quarantine period to take them with you. Things changed in 2000 when the pet passport scheme was first introduced and Frodo Baggins became the first dog ever to be allowed in to the UK.

The scheme was introduced to allow pets to travel whilst controlling the spread of Rabies and other diseases. Up until then a quarantine scheme had been in place since a rabies outbreak which killed 173 people in 1901. As a result, the UK has been free of Rabies for many years but mammals in other countries are still at risk. All mammals that are susceptible have to undergo the quarantine period unless they meet all the conditions of PETS.

If you would like to take your dog abroad with you there are a number of things you will need to do.

First of all, your dog will need to be fitted with a microchip. This gives your dog a unique identification number and means that your dog can be traced back to you. Your vet can do this at a cost of 20- 45.

Following this you should get your dog vaccinated against rabies. It is vital that the injection is given AFTER the micro-chipping as the vet needs to record both the date of micro-chipping and inoculation on the pet passport however this can be at the same trip to the vets. After about 30 days, your Vet will take a blood sample from your dog and send it off to test whether the vaccine has worked. The results may take up to a month to return but if there has been an immune response then your vet will perform a health check and then issue you with a PETS certificate. However, it is important to note that you cannot enter the UK with your dog until at least 6 months has passed since the blood test results were received. This means that you need at least 7 months before your date of travel to prepare your pet.

Your dog must also be treated for ticks and tapeworm not less than 24hours and not more than 48 hours before re-entering the UK again by a certified vet, so it is important to source an authorised vet before you leave the UK. If you are travelling to France on a day trip, you can get this done in the UK before you leave.

Total cost for the passport will be anything from 150 to 300 plus around 50 Euros for the tick and worming treatment on return.

On the Day

Before travelling, ensure that your dog is fit and healthy. Give it a small amount of dog food and then make sure it has the chance to go to the toilet before being put in to a well-ventilated pet carrier. The carrier should be large enough for you dog to move around in and it is a good idea to let your dog try it out before the big day and possibly put a familiar rug or dog bed inside it so the dog feels at ease in the box.

Finally it is important that you do your research before you travel. You can only return to the UK on certain air, sea or rail routes and only certain countries are signed up to the PETS scheme. These include most EU countries and quite a few others, but all others will require a six month stay in quarantine. Check with DEFRA for a list of the countries that operate the PETS scheme. Certain countries may also require an export health certificate which will need to be issued by your vet. You must get your dog revaccinated against Rabies within a year for the passport to remain valid.

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